The Most Attractive Employers For Business Students In 2017

Research and advisory firm Universum Global released its list of the most attractive employers among undergraduate business students, based on a survey of nearly 27,000 students.

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Large companies spend a great deal of time and money on maintaining their brand image. Although that image can shift quickly when crisis strikes, a large firm’s reputation typically holds steady for longer than you might think.

Today research and advisory firm Universum Global released its list of the most attractive employers among undergraduate business students. Over the past six months, Universum recruited 26,809 students at 359 U.S. universities to take a 20-minute survey, asking them questions about which firms they held in highest regard.

To view the most attractive employers for business students in 2017, open the gallery below.

Google was named the most attractive employer, maintaining its number-one spot from last year. Business students think the tech giant is an innovative place to work, says Jonna Sjövall, a senior vice president at Universum. “People really know Google’s work environment because Google has been very vocal about it,” she adds. Disney came in second place, also holding onto its ranking from 2016. Business students see Disney as having a creative and friendly culture, according to Sjövall.

J.P. Morgan and Goldman Sachs ranked sixth and seventh. Sjövall says students tend to view banks as old fashioned and not particularly creative, but both J.P. Morgan and Goldman have held onto their top-ten spots for years. “They have a strong strategy in attracting the people they’re interested in,” says Sjövall.

Professional services firm EY ranked eighth. It beat every other “big four” accounting firm (Deloitte, PwC and KPMG) in the ranking, although it fell three spots from last year, when it came in fifth. Every big four firm lost ground on this year’s list. Natasha Stough, campus recruiting director of EY’s Americas region, says the market for talent has become increasingly competitive. Investment banks and consulting firms still draw strong interest, and tech companies like Google and Facebook are eating up entry-level talent. “If you look at Google, their position as far as some of the offers they have, the campuses they have on the West Coast — it’s impressive,” Stough says.

EY recruited 5,500 entry-level staff hires and 3,500 interns over the past year. And what attracts students to the 231,000-person company? It’s known as being a great place to start a career, Sjövall says, and to have a friendlier culture than the rest of the big four. It has a reputation for being “flexible, open and collaborative,” says Stough. For instance, EY offers 16 weeks’ parental leave to men and women. Employees have taken the company up on that offer — since last July, 82 men have taken 16 weeks’ parental leave.